Villages team up with NIU for Brisbin Road analysis

Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 9:05 p.m. CDT

By: Kris Stadalsky
Shaw Media Correspondent

MINOOKA – A cluster analysis of the Brisbin Road industrial area being performed by Northern Illinois University will help village officials from Channahon and Minooka determine the best use of funds for waste water treatment.

Minooka trustees, in a 6-0 vote Tuesday night, approved a contract with both the village of Channahon and NIU to enter into a contract for the analysis, Village Administrator Dan Duffy said Wednesday.

NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies was selected to perform the analysis.

A $100,000 Economic Development Administration grant will fund the joint study; $25,000 comes from each village and $50,000 from federal sources, Duffy said.

A second agreement also was approved by trustees that authorizes Strand Associates and Robinson Engineering to provide engineering services for the feasibility study of the same area.

The studies will determine if the area will need two small treatment plants – one for each municipality – or a larger one that services both.

“It really gives us a blueprint, or roadmap, for that far west road and how to best develop it,” Duffy said.

The interchange, which opened to traffic two years ago, serves as an alternate truck route for industry on U.S. 6. The surrounding 12,000 acres, once developed, is expected to lower property taxes and bring jobs to the area.

It is situated in the three towns of Channahon, Minooka and Morris.

Motor fuel tax

funds allocated

Minooka will have $395,000 to spend on maintaining streets and highways this year, through the motor fuel tax fund.

Robinson Engineering was approved in a 6-0 vote Tuesday to complete the design engineering, construction engineering and material testing for the 2014 projects.

No large or main road projects are on this year’s list, as Twin Rails was for the last two years, Duffy said.

“This year we are going [to do] various projects throughout the village,” he said.

Robinson will receive $39,000 for their services, a fee set by IDOT.

The board of trustees also adopted the village’s official zoning map for 2014; no changes were made to the previous map.